Saturday, March 8, 2008

1. Will there be any newly elected opposition MPs jumping ship and joining Barisan National ?

2. As the performance of the stock market is generally considered an indicator of the publics' and foreign investors' approval of government policy / happenings in the country; watch the direction of the Composite Index this Monday. Last Friday (7th March) the Composite Index was at about 1,289.22 points. Check the edge daily

3. The PM position may be shaky as Badawi has lost BN's traditional 2/3rds majority in parliament and 5 state seats. Who's gonna move in on whom, in Umno ?

4. Who are going to be appointed the ministers in Badawi's new cabinet ?

5. Will Khairy and Mahathir's son, Mukhriz Mahathir be made ministers as they won parliamentary seats ?

6. Gerakan's leader Dr. Koh Tsu Koon has lost his bid for a parliamentary seat. Will he still be made a federal minister - by way of appointing him a senator ? If not, who will take over, former Gerakan chairman, Dr Lim Keng Yaik's ministry ? Will there be a leadership crisis in Gerakan ?

7. Both the MIC's president, Samy Vellu and deputy president, G. Palanivel, have lost their parliamentary seats. Will they both still be made federal ministers - by way of appointing them senators ? If not, who are going to be the Works minister (who is currently being held by Samy Vellu) and the Women, Family and Community Development deputy minister (who is currently being held by G. Palanivel) ?. Will there be a leadership crisis in MIC ? Will Subramaniam (former deputy MIC president) make a move towards improving his political position ?

8. PPP's president Kaveas has lost its only seat - Taiping. Will he still be made a federal deputy minister - by way of appointing him a senator ? Will he be bullied by other BN component parties by denying him / his party a deputy ministership, thus finishing off his political career ?

9. Both the MCA's president, Ong Ka Ting and his brother Ong Ka Chuan have won respectably in their seats. Will they move to consolidate their position within the party ? Will there be a reshuffle in MCA ? Will Ong Ka Chuan be made a minister ? Chua Soi Lek's "proxy" - his son, has won the Labis parliamentary seat. Will he be made a minister or promoted to higher party ranks ? Ling Liong Sik's (the former MCA president) son, Ling Hee Leong (now MCA deputy youth chief) has lost the Gopeng parliamentary seat; will he be offered a minister's post nevertheless - by way of appointing him a senator ?

10. Will one of the PKR candidates who won a parliamentary seat be prepared to vacate his / her seat and force a by-election so that PKR's de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim (who is able to stand for an election next month) be brought back to parliament ? Will it be his wife Wan Azizah or his daughter Nurul Izzah ? If Anwar Ibrahim goes back to parliament will he be made opposition leader ?

11. How will the opposition's loose coalition fare in the months and years to come ?

12. How will the opposition run Penang, Kedah, Selangor and Perak in the months and years to come ?